[23
MAR 00] WARWICKSHIRE CONSTABULARY PRESS RELEASE
Leamington Attack Team Praised
The
skill and professionalism of the police team which investigated a
serious sexual attack on an 11-year-old girl at a Leamington dance
school has been recognised.
Sixteen
officers from the Operation Larrikin team will be presented with Chief
Constable’s commendations at a ceremony at Police HQ, Leek Wootton
on March 30.
A
major inquiry, led by Acting Detective Superintendent Richard Sear,
was launched in December 1998 following the attack at the dance school
in Spencer Street.
Fundamental
to the inquiry was town centre CCTV footage, which showed the suspect
wearing a distinctive yellow and black fleece at a nearby bus stop.
The
offender was sentenced to six years imprisonment by a judge at
Coventry Crown Court in June 1999.
After
the hearing, the parents of the victim praised the police for their
sympathetic handling of the case and also the local and national media
for their extensive coverage of police appeals for information.
Acting
Chief Constable, Mick Brewer said:
“The
success of the inquiry and the ultimate conviction of the offender
was due to the energetic leadership of the Senior Investigating
Officer and his deputy, Det Insp George Stepney, the tenacity of all
the officers involved, and the structured and professional way in
which the whole inquiry was approached.”
“The
inquiry was made especially difficult by the lack of any immediate
forensic evidence and the absence of witnesses or a comprehensive
description of the offender.”
A/Det
Supt Richard Sear and DI Stepney are commended along with:
DS Paul Ledden, DS Jez Grew, DC Jon Ashfield, DC Naveed Malik,
DC Bob Bradshaw, DC John Milne, DC Debra Tedds, DC Karen Rook, DC
Stephen Barlow, DC Scott Lynbery, DC Garrie White, DC Amanda Buswell,
DC Susan Smith and Mrs Valerie Deeming.
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